The invention relates to pontoon-type boats. A typical pontoon-type boat has a generally rectangular deck or floor supported either by actual pontoons or by a tunnel hull. The main purpose of a pontoon-type boat is carrying a large number of people. Speed is a secondary consideration. It is known, however, that a tunnel hull provides greater speed than conventional aluminum pontoons. Unlike conventional pontoons, the sponsons of a tunnel hull allow a boat to plane on top of the water. Conventional pontoons provide a semi-displacement hull that cannot get up on top of the water, although it may plane to some extent.
A standard tunnel hull has two sponsons, one on each side of the boat, with a space or tunnel in between. It is known to provide a racing tunnel hull with an additional sponson-like structure in front of the propeller. This additional structure is wedge-shaped and extends only a short distance in front of the propeller (substantially less than 50% of the length of the hull). Its purpose is to "shape" the water for the propeller.
It is also known to provide an actual pontoon boat with a motor pod, i.e., an additional downwardly extending structure in front of the propeller and between the pontoons. See, for example, U.S. Ser. No. 897,328, which was filed Jun. 11, 1992, which is titled "Motor Pod for Pontoon Boat" and which is assigned to the assignee hereof. Known motor pods extend only a short distance in front of the propeller (substantially less than 50% of the length of the boat).
It is also known to provide an actual pontoon boat (as opposed to a pontoon-type boat with a tunnel hull) with three pontoons of equal length. Because a true pontoon boat does not get on top of the water in the same way a boat with a tunnel hull does, there is no disadvantage in having the center pontoon extend all the way to the front of the boat.
Also, it is known to provide a pontoon boat with a boarding ladder that folds up on top of the deck of the boat.